Lynx retire Moore's No. 23 in emotional ceremony

MINNEAPOLIS — Lynx legend Maya Moore shed tears Saturday night as she stood at center court to see her No. 23 jersey retired to the rafters of the Target Center.

Moments after the Minnesota team she once led wrapped up a playoff spot with a 90-80 victory over the Indiana Fever and a year after she officially retired from the WNBA, Moore was surrounded by former teammates, friends and family members as her number was unveiled alongside the other stars of the 2017 WNBA title team: Rebekkah Brunson, Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus.

Most of the record crowd for a Lynx home game — 19,023 — stayed in their seats to honor Moore, who helped the franchise win four WNBA titles.

“My life is an example of what it looks like when we love a little girl well,” she said. “There is no way we’re watching that [ceremony] without love. So many people having a hand in my life to show me what life is about. That’s what I tried to bring every day: life and joy. Because I’ve been a recipient of life and joy.”

Moore was given a customized chest from Jordan Brand — she was the first woman signed by the company — that included a fashionable letter jacket and multiple pairs of gold shoes. A video montage also played during the ceremony for Moore, who spent eight seasons in Minneapolis. It included praise from some of her top opponents. In the video, Mercury star Diana Taurasi said Moore was at times “unstoppable” whenever they competed.

Moore, the 2014 WNBA MVP, was also celebrated by those who also helped turn the franchise into a powerhouse under head coach Cheryl Reeve.

“You helped all of us elevate our games to another level and we reached new heights to another level that we probably didn’t think we would ever achieve by winning four championships and doing so many awesome things together,” Augustus said.

Added Whalen: “The greatest thing I think I can say about Maya is that when you were on her team, you never felt out of any situation, any game.”

Upon retiring last year, Moore announced that she and her husband, Jonathan Irons, would continue their work with their organization, Win With Justice, which aims to educate the public on challenges within the American justice system. But Moore hasn’t played a game since 2018, so she effectively ended her career in the WNBA as a 29-year-old.

Before Saturday’s game, Moore said she won’t consider a comeback to basketball, which she left in part to help free Irons, whose conviction on a burglary and assault charge was overturned. Days after his release from prison on July 1, 2020, Moore and Irons got married. The couple welcomed their first child, Jonathan Irons Jr., in 2022. Between motherhood and her work with criminal justice reform, Moore said she’s content with her life right now.

She also said she waited to officially announce her retirement because she wanted to be certain.

“The journey that I had was not expected, but it was exactly the journey that I was supposed to go on,” she said. “And so the way my life was going and the amount of effort and presence that was required from where I was going, as each year went along, it didn’t look like I could shift back, but I just wanted to stay in the moment and also just keep things open until I was really sure.”

Moore has one of the most decorated résumés in the history of basketball, men’s or women’s. She is a former two-time NCAA champion and two-time Wooden Award winner. She also won a pair of Olympic gold medals with the women’s national team. But the moment she said she’ll always remember from her time with the Lynx came in 2015 during Game 3 of the WNBA Finals against the Fever. Moore hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to win the game on the road, creating one of the most lasting images from her career.

“All you see in that picture is the [Indiana] fans just speechless as the shot is going up and then, you know, pump fake, one dribble right, it goes up,” she recalled. “All I remember is it was so eerily quiet after the shot went in and then [Brunson] hugged me and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m back to life.'”

Caitlin Clark, who scored 23 points in Saturday’s loss, has repeatedly called Moore her favorite player of all time. She was a Lynx fan as a kid and said that one of her favorite childhood memories was when she had the chance to hug Moore before a game.

But Clark was not the only player on the floor Saturday who had idolized Moore as a kid. Napheesa Collier, who led the Lynx with a 31-point effort, and Moore grew up in the same hometown, Jefferson City, Missouri, and both played at UConn.

Moore said she has been impressed by Collier’s growth during a season that has put the star squarely in the WNBA MVP conversation, along with the other standouts chasing Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson. During the ceremony, Reeve said Moore played a role in Collier’s rise.

“The impact of Maya Moore is that Napheesa Collier got to dream of one day being like Maya Moore,” Reeve said.

The magic Moore created on the court during her career will have a permanent place in the Target Center now that her number has been retired. On Saturday, Moore tried to take it all in as she wept while the fans who never wanted her to leave cheered.

“I kind of don’t want this night to end,” she said. “Some of my favorite people in the world are here with me.”